Page 18 of Redemption
“You don’t seem to appreciate the threat to your safety. You can’t behave like you always have. A solo traveler is already in a vulnerable position.” I shuddered at the statistics for women, not bothering to relay them. Unwilling to ever let Sloan become one of those statistics.
“Add in the fact that you’re wealthy,” I continued, though that was putting it mildly. Sloan was a billionaire. “And you’re even more of a target.”
She scoffed. “This isn’t my first rodeo. It’s not like I go around flashing my wealth.”
“Perhaps not,” I said, knowing firsthand that when it came to Sloan, things weren’t always what they appeared. “But there’s been a rash of thefts in the Caribbean as the season ramps up. Gangs on Jet Skis wearing clown masks and boarding boats with guns. Not to mention muggings at ATMs.” I didn’t stop when her eyes widened. Couldn’t. I needed her to understand. I needed her to stay safe. “And even if you ignored all that, someone has been sending you threats.”
Sloan had always been stubborn, but I’d never considered her particularly reckless. At least, I hadn’t in the past.
“Are you trying to scare me?” Anger bled into her words. But beneath it, I sensed fear. Sloan was scared, even if she refused to admit it.
I tried to keep my cool. “I’m trying to get you to be realistic. I know you’re not happy about the situation, but you can’t continue to ignore it.” No matter how much she might want to.
She turned away, walking over to the window and peering out at the skyline. I took the opportunity to study her. The shoulders of her suit tapered to her waist, nipping in before flaring out over her hips. Curves that had always been generous seemed even more so. And the way her skirt clung to her rounded ass had my cock standing up and taking notice.
I drank her in like a dying man who’d wandered the desert in search of water.
Her skirt had a slit up the back, giving me a rather tantalizing glimpse of her thighs. I could remember the feel of her skin beneath my hands. The birthmark that stained the quad of her right leg. I’d spent hours memorizing every inch of her. Hours in her arms. In her bed. Inside her.
And now, it was almost as if we were strangers. The distance between us had never seemed so great, even when we were on opposite sides of the world. At least then, I could imagine a different outcome. Imagine us in the past as we’d once been—in love and inseparable. Or dream of a future together, even if it would never come to pass.
She sighed, playing with her necklace and bringing me back to the present as she turned to face me once more. “What do you suggest?”
This was good. She might not trust me, but she’d given me an opening.
I grabbed a set of nautical charts, unfolding them on the table before setting some makeshift paperweights on top.
“Talk about old-school,” she teased.
“You love it,” I retorted before catching myself. I needed to remember our roles and the circumstances. Not slip back into our easy familiarity, no matter how tempting it may seem.
She’s your principal. She’s with another man.
“I do,” she said softly. So softly, I almost hadn’t heard her.
Hell, maybe I’d imagined the words. Longing to hear something positive from her lips. Wanting to know that I’d meant as much to her as she had to me.
I turned my attention to the charts, needing to focus on the present.
Paper charts were safer and more reliable in the sense that our travel plans couldn’t be hacked. That said, I’d given a copy of our itinerary to Hudson and Sloan’s family. I detailed my proposed route, hoping she would see my suggestions as the improvements they were—mostly in terms of security.
“I appreciate that you didn’t completely change my plans,” she said, her eyes still on the charts. “And getting to see the eclipse is an added bonus. It wasn’t even on my radar.”
My shoulders relaxed, relief washing over me at her acceptance. “Like I said, I just made a few tweaks to make it safer. And I thought you might enjoy the eclipse. Selfishly, I wanted to see it.”
She let out a long breath, causing her lips to purse and my cock to harden. Jesus.
She’d always had this effect on me. It was…problematic, to say the least.
Vaughn’s voice rang in my head. Turn a conflict into an asset.
Yeah. I was pretty sure this wasn’t what he’d meant.
“Did you volunteer for this assignment?” she asked.
“No.” In fact, I’d tried everything I could to extricate myself from it.
“Is there really no one else?” she asked, her expression weary.